@Rome Maker Faire – 3. Stare Of The Mechanical Man

I’ve always been fascinated by that moment in an exhibition when human curiosity meets mechanical indifference. In this frame, the robot’s gaze — fixed, almost expectant — seems to cut through the bustle of the Maker Faire. There’s a quiet in its stare that stands in stark contrast to the crowded, noisy energy of the scene.

I chose to let the human operator stand slightly behind the machine, not in front of it. This composition allowed the robot to dominate the foreground while still including the person who, ironically, brings it to life. The presence of an out-of-focus head in the bottom left was a conscious choice to keep the viewer in the crowd, peering in.

Technically, the light was a challenge. Exhibition spaces often give you a mix of harsh artificial sources and unpredictable shadows, and here the overhead spots created bright hits on the robot’s white surfaces while leaving faces in softer shade. Exposure needed careful balancing — push it too far for the shadows and the whites would blow; pull it back and the darker elements would sink. I settled for a middle ground that preserved detail in both.

Colour plays its part here too: the warm browns of the ceiling and walls against the cooler blues of the banners and the white of the mechanical man create a palette that feels both industrial and oddly inviting.

What I like most, though, is that this image doesn’t just record a machine — it records a meeting of gazes, even if only one of them can truly see.